St. Joseph woman on dialysis gives birth to healthy baby

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A premature miracle
St. Joseph woman on dialysis gives birth to healthy baby

by Jennifer Gordon
St. Joseph News-Press
POSTED: 2:20 pm CST December 1, 2010

Isobel Ann Gitthens is all surprises. She’s a surprise because the doctors did not expect her mother, Morgan Gitthens, would get pregnant. She’s a surprise because she came early, at 34 weeks, and a day after dad Aaron Gitthens put her crib together. Mostly she’s awe-inspiring because while Morgan is in renal failure, Isobel is a healthy, albeit premature, baby girl.

Named for a character on “Grey’s Anatomy” whom Morgan finds motivating, Isobel — or Izzie — is the first baby to be born to a woman on dialysis at Heartland Regional Medical Center. Although her mother had a grueling, almost 20-hour labor, the doctors delivered Izzie at 10:45 p.m. Nov. 11 without any complications.

Izzie’s mother has a rare condition called IgA nephropathy, or Berger’s disease, a disorder that causes antibodies to IgA protein to build up in the kidneys. Morgan went into renal failure for the first time at age 17 and received a kidney from her father, Terry Alder. A year and a half ago, her body rejected the donated kidney, and she’s been on dialysis ever since. Morgan had just transitioned to an at-home dialysis machine, a process that takes two hours six times a week, versus dialysis at a hospital clinic, which can take upwards of five hours, when she found out about Izzie.

Although Morgan and Aaron didn’t plan the pregnancy, the St. Joseph-area couple had been through the pregnancy-test routine before. This time, they got the positive results they wanted. Dr. Sheena Drake, Morgan’s OBGYN at Heartland, confirmed the pregnancy. She sent Morgan to an OBGYN at St. Luke’s for a check-up, typical protocol for a high-risk pregnancy at Heartland, and St. Luke’s cleared her to deliver at Heartland where Aaron works as an emergency room nurse.

The next 34 weeks would be a time of baited breath.

The pregnancy

From a doctor’s perspective, a pregnancy on dialysis risks a lot of complications, which is why many physicians advise women on dialysis not to become pregnant. Dialysis puts additional strain on a woman’s body and raises the likelihood that she could deliver early or miscarry. The machine also could disrupt the blood flow to the placenta to the point it affects the shape of the baby’s face or fatally flattens the umbilical cord, Dr. Drake says. Blood flow aside, the baby is at a high risk for birth defects.

The biggest dangers are to the mother. Pregnant women on dialysis chance preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension, diabetes and becoming dehydrated.

Despite developing two of these conditions, preeclampsia and diabetes, during her pregnancy, Morgan was confident Izzie would be fine.

“I knew from the moment I got pregnant it was going to be OK,” she says.

Other than exercising extra caution, Morgan describes her pregnancy as typical, prenatal vitamins and all.

Her doctors were there to make sure of it. Dr. Drake and Dr. Susan Brown and Dr. Scott Brown, Morgan’s nephrologists at Heartland, monitored her closely throughout her pregnancy.

Dr. Drake checked the amniotic fluid around Izzie throughout the pregnancy to make sure the baby remained healthy.

“She had no problems with any of the tests,” Dr. Drake says.

Izzie’s healthy development and functioning kidneys assuaged many of her parents’ and her physicians’ first trimester fears.

“The doctors couldn’t find anything bad. As each week went by, we felt our faith strengthen more and more. It was like, ‘Hey, it’s going to be OK. We’re going to make it,’” Aaron says.

Early bird

The week after she was born, Izzie spent most her time in an incubator swaddled in blankets, full head of hair covered by the same pink hat Morgan had worn home from the hospital as an infant. The 34-week-old preemie burned too many calories to keep herself warm, and she stayed close to an external heat source until she gained more weight.

Doctors also watched her for respiratory distress, the biggest medical concern with a premature baby. An IV monitored her glucose levels.

Izzie could only leave the incubator in half-hour increments, and she had plenty of people to meet in those short windows. Both Morgan and Aaron’s families live within 45 minutes of St. Joseph, and most came out to see the newest addition. In Morgan’s hospital room, the tiny bundle with the oversized pink hat was passed among aunts, uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents.

Izzie might have spent most of her time enclosed in plastic and blankets, but she was never alone.

Two weeks after her birth, still bundled tight, she went home to her parents. To no surprise, she’s still doing exceptionally well.

Looking back on her pregnancy and down at her newborn, Morgan says she couldn’t have done it without her faith. She is also thankful for the support of her physicians who in the face of medical odds, remained optimistic about the pregnancy. Izzie’s mom believes the experience affected them the same way it did her family.

“I don’t know if they believe in God, but I think it sparked a little bit of something in their hearts. Miracles do happen,” she says.

Jennifer Gordon can be reached at jennifer.gordon@newspressnow.com

http://www.newspressnow.com/localnews/25975348/detail.html